She quit her jobs to become his office fuck toy.
She took off to another country without a goodbye.
And now …
She got married without even thinking about me.
If she truly loved this man and he was everything she ever dreamed about, I would have stood by her side, I would have walked down the aisle as her maid-of-honor, and I would have cried the happiest tears watching her say her vows, but this?
This isn’t the woman who raised me. She is so blinded by the money and lifestyle that she can’t even see how Orlando has simply taken control of every aspect of her life. She’s no longer an independent woman. Everything she has relies solely on him.
By the time I’m pulling into a parking space and cutting the engine, I realize tears have been streaming down my face and I hastily wipe them away before glancing at my reflection in the rearview mirror.
I do my best to look presentable. I’m sure word has gotten out about the accident yesterday and I’m going to be the topic of conversation. Glancing up at the big school, I lock Mom’s car and get only a few steps before Chanel is at my side, slipping her arm through mine and helping me up to the school. “You shouldn’t be here,” she tells me, as though I don’t already know that.
I shrug my shoulders, not really sure what to say that’s going to make my being here sound like a good idea. We reach the main part of the school and there are bodies everywhere, making me fear for the walk to my locker. One shoulder charge is all I need to drop me to the ground, and as if sensing that, Chanel switches sides with me to put herself between me and the crowd.
By the time I reach my locker, the bell for homeroom is already ringing and Chanel scurries off, leaving Ilaria to be my guide.
The morning is slow and I don’t see Tanner until I’m sitting in third period English. He walks through the door, late as usual, and the moment he raises his head and finds me, he stops. His dark eyes lingering on mine and causing my heart to race.
The words he said to me fill every space in my mind, so loud it’s like they’re screaming at me, trying to hurt me all over again. He left me broken last night, broken and fucking destroyed just as he always said he would.
Regret shines heavy in his eyes and the intensity is too strong, I’m forced to look away.
“Find your seat, Mr. Morgan,” Miss Harper says. “You’re holding up my lesson.”
Tanner drops his gaze, and a wave of relief washes over my body, only it doesn’t last as he starts to walk toward his seat at the back of the room. Every step he takes in my direction kills me, and I find myself holding my breath, desperate for him to pass, only he doesn’t.
Tanner pauses by my desk, and it takes every bit of willpower not to look up into those eyes that have claimed every part of my soul. “You shouldn’t be here,” he murmurs, his tone low but so full of authority. “You need to be home resting.”
“And now you care?” I question, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Bri,” he says, leaving my name lingering in the air between us.
“Miss Harper is waiting,” I remind him. “You’re wasting her time.”
I see his hands ball into fists at his side, not liking this one bit. He drops down beside me, his gaze lingering on the side of my face. “Come on, Killjoy. Just talk to me. You know I didn’t mean any of it. Let me make this right.”
I shake my head before slowly turning to take him in. “Careful,” I say, hating how his eyes penetrate deeply into mine, capturing everything that I am. “You wouldn’t want to be caught slumming it with the good for nothing whore from Hope Falls. You know I’m going to be a prostitute one day?”
Hurt flashes in his eyes, but before he can say a damn word, Miss Harper calls out. “Tanner. Get in your seat now or you’ll spend your Friday afternoon in detention with me.”
Knowing damn well Miss Harper will follow through on her threat, Tanner stands, not willing to risk missing Friday night’s game. “This isn’t over,” he tells me.
I scoff. “I told you last night. I’m done.”
He clenches his jaw before taking a step, only to pause again and steal Arizona’s attention. “As soon as class is done, make sure she goes home.” With that, he walks away and drops down into his seat, my heart shattering all over again. I know he was hurting last night, his sister was attacked for a second time and could have lost her life. If I hadn’t stopped him on that track, he could have easily ended up in the ICU right beside her, and if I hadn’t allowed him to use me as his verbal punching bag, he would have hurt his friends and gotten straight back in his Mustang. It was a necessary evil that’s left us both broken.
A heaviness settles into my chest as Arizona reaches across to my desk, taking my hand. “He’s right. You should go home,” she says, a hint of confusion lacing her tone. The last time I saw her, I was held tightly in Tanner’s arms, and now, there’s nothing but disdain between us. “You’ve had your attendance marked off. There’s nothing stopping you from taking off.”
I shake my head, the idea of going home to face my mother only making things worse. “I can’t go home.”
“What do you—”
A knock at the door cuts off Arizona’s question, and we all glance up to find Principal Dormer accompanying two police officers.
My blood instantly turns cold.
They step through the doorway and Miss Harper murmurs to herself. “Great, another hold up,” she says before giving Principal Dormer a welcoming smile. “How can I help you?”
My gaze snaps back to Tanner’s, all the bullshit between us suddenly not so important. He broke into Colby’s home last night, destroyed their property, and scared the shit out of his parents. There’s only one reason why the cops would be here, either that or they have news about his sister, but I doubt it. His mom would have called him first.
Tanner stares back at me, the same fear reflected in his own eyes. “I’ll be fine,” he tells me, his voice so low that I barely hear it, even despite the words we can’t take back, he’s still looking out for me, not wanting me to fear for what he’s about to go through. “Don’t worry about me.”
Don’t worry about him? That’s not possible.
Principal Dormer glances over the class before his heavy gaze lands on me. “Miss Ashford. Please stand.”
“Me?” I question, my brows furrowed.
“Please do not resist,” Dormer says. “These officers would like to have a chat with you.”
I glance back at Tanner to see confusion brimming in his stare as I reluctantly stand, keeping myself half braced behind my desk. “What’s this about?”
“Miss Ashford, please mak—”
The cop closest to the aisle decides he’s had enough of Dormer’s slow and steady approach and storms down the aisle toward me, gripping his cuffs at his hip. “Brielle Ashford,” he states, reaching me in two seconds and gripping me by my wrist. He whips me around and I scream out as he slams my chest down on my desk, tackling my arms behind my back. “You’re under arrest for the brutal attack, rape, and attempted murder of Miss Addison Morgan.”
Unbelievable pain tears through me and I scream as the edge of my desk presses against my ribs, the cop holding me down as shocked gasps fill the room. This is the first the school is hearing about Addison’s attack, and now they’re all going to think it was me.